Better Places to Go

CANDACE. (She sees him for the first time.) That’s the nicest thing anyone has said to me all day.

DEREK. You have a pretty smile.

CANDACE. So do you.

DEREK. Is Ricardo here?

CANDACE. Who?

DEREK. You’re not from here, are you?

CANDACE. No. I’m from — I used to live in Chicago.

DEREK. Ricardo works here.

CANDACE. Oh, are you his best friend?

DEREK. Did he tell you that?

CANDACE. As a matter of fact, he did. You’ve been waiting for him at the bus station.

DEREK. What else did he tell you?

CANDACE. I shouldn’t say this, but he told me that he loves—

RICARDO. (He enters from the kitchen.) Bad news. (He notices that Derek has arrived.) We’re all out of ice cream.

DEREK. I waited for you, Ricardo. Just like I said I would.

RICARDO. Derek, I’m sorry.

DEREK. You promised me.

RICARDO. I should’ve met you at ten-thirty.

DEREK. Do you have the map?

RICARDO. It’s in my bag.

DEREK. I never thought my sister would die. I thought she would live forever.

RICARDO. The sheriff said it was only one shot.

DEREK. At least it wasn’t from her own gun. She had it to protect herself but she won’t need anything to protect her now.

RICARDO. Neither will my sister, Derek. I said good bye to her tonight.

DEREK. The bus came and went, Ricardo. We’re still here. You changed your mind because you don’t love me.

RICARDO. That isn’t true.

DEREK. I waited for you for so long. (Beat.) I’m cold.

RICARDO. Let me get you my jacket. (He starts towards the kitchen.)

DEREK. (He opens his backpack and pulls out a handgun. He moves towards the door to the restroom.) Don’t worry about it, Ricardo. I won’t be needing nothing else from you. (Quick beat.) I love you.

(Derek moves to enter the bathroom, but Candace tries to intervene by blocking his path. Derek shoves her out of the way and she falls to the floor. She scrambles to catch him, reaching for his pant leg and screaming for Ricardo to help her. Derek slips into the bathroom and locks the door.)

RICARDO. (He rushes to the bathroom door. Candace crawls to get out of his way. Ricardo tries desperately to get the door open.) Derek. Derek, open the door.

CANDACE. Derek, please! (To Ricardo:) He has a gun.

RICARDO. Derek, listen to me. Are you listening? I love you. I love you so much. I’m sorry I didn’t meet you. I got scared. Sometimes it makes me crazy. It makes me feel bad because I don’t know what to do with it all. Please, Derek. Let’s go. We can go right now.

CANDACE. (She goes to the counter for the telephone. As she picks up the phone, she knocks over a container of sugar packets and they spill down the front of her dress and on the floor around her. She starts to dial the phone, frantically.) Keep talking to him. I’m getting help. (Into the phone:) Hello? Hello, is anybody there?!

RICARDO. (Terrified:) Derek, open this fucking door right now! Do you hear me?! We’re getting out of here tonight and we are never coming back. I swear to you, we are leaving. We’re going to Miami at midnight. (From inside of the bathroom, a single gunshot is heard and the noise echoes through the diner, piercing the air. Horrified, Candace drops the phone and begins to cry. Ricardo is overwhelmed with emotion.) We’re going to Miami!

(Ricardo stays at the door for a moment. Finally, he moves away from it slowly. He turns to Candace, who is motionless behind the counter. As Ricardo kneels to the floor, Candace discovers the bus tickets to Miami on the counter. She picks them up and holds them tightly. She rushes to Ricardo, kneeling beside him. Sobbing, Ricardo moves to her. She wraps her arms around him and holds him, cradling him while he weeps. She glances nervously at the door to the restroom, looks down at Ricardo, at the bus tickets and then towards the main entrance of the diner.

Lights slowly fade to black.)

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

David-Matthew Barnes is the bestselling author of ten novels, including the young adult novels Fifty Yards and Holding, The Marijuana Mermaids, Mesmerized, Swimming to Chicago, and Wonderland. He is also the author of Boys Like Me, a collection of short stories, and Roadside Attractions and Souvenir Boys, two collections of poetry. He has written over forty stage plays that have been performed in three languages in eight countries. He is the writer and director of the feature film Frozen Stars and the dramatic short film Threnody. His literary work has been featured in over one hundred publications including The Best Stage Scenes, The Best Men’s Stage Monologues, The Best Women’s Stage Monologues, The Comstock Review, and The Southeast Review. He earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.davidmatthewbarnes.com.

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